Показания истцов и ответчиков

English translation: Evidence

21:25 Feb 16, 2006

Russian to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Law (general)

Russian term or phrase: Показания истцов и ответчиков

Может ли "evidence" быть во множественном числе - the court heard the Claimant's and the Respondent's evidences?

Я считаю, что нет. Моя коллега не согласилась, утверждая, что в Гугле много ссылок. Где правда?

responder KudoZ activity Questions: 7207 (none open) (4 without valid answers) (298 closed without grading) Answers: 33 Russian Federation
Local time: 04:06

English translation:Evidence

Explanation:
You're correct. There's no plural form for "evidence". Here goes over-reliance on Google :)
Just replace it with "statement" or "testimony" - both have plural forms

Selected response from:

YelenaM
Local time: 21:06

Grading comment

Thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +3

"Testimony" has a plural form

Vladimir Dubisskiy

4 +2

Evidence

YelenaM

может

sergey (X)

evidence by both the Claimant and the Respondent

Karen Sughyan

4 -1

Statements by Plaintiffs and Defendants

Pavel Zalutski

Discussion entries: 1

Answers

9 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

Показания истцов и ответчиков

Evidence

Explanation:
You're correct. There's no plural form for "evidence". Here goes over-reliance on Google :)
Just replace it with "statement" or "testimony" - both have plural forms

YelenaM
Local time: 21:06
Native speaker of:

Russian
PRO pts in category: 8

Grading comment

Thank you!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

David Knowles: "testimony" has no plural. The court heard testimony/evidence/statements from the Claimant and Respondent.

2 mins

-> Just checked Merriam-Webster online and it does give plural form for "testimony" (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/testimony); but you're right - I would avoid using plural form here

agree

Svetlana Chekunova

7 hrs

-> thank you

neutral

Roman Bouchev: Testimony is the evidence given by witnesses and other people on the stand during a jury proceeding. It is a collective noun, and is not generally used in the plural form. Evidence is the general term for all things related to deciding a case

8 hrs

-> i agree; "testimonies" is not used very often and I'd avoid it myself

disagree

sergey (X): there are more reliable sources, like bbc.co.uk etc. PS only educated people are invited to write for the bbc website, a lot of it is an electronic version of what goes into print. google just indexes all people's sites.

12 hrs

-> exactly! However, I was referencing Merriam-Webster Online, not Google

agree

Dorene Cornwell

1 day 22 hrs

-> thank you

20 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

Показания истцов и ответчиков "Testimony" has a plural form

Explanation:
Examples:

The story of the creation of the Fortunoff Video **Archive for Holocaust Testimonies**, a collection of over 3800 videotaped interviews with witnesses and ...
www.holocausttestimonies.com/ - 2k - Cached - Similar pages

***Testimonies of witnesses****,Passenger witnesses before the High Level ...Passenger witnesses before the High Level Committee Testimony of Dwarka Bhai Patel Q.3 From where you were traveling and upto where you were going? ...
www.combatlaw.org/information. php?article_id=539&issue_id=21 - 42k -

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 mins (2006-02-16 21:49:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

same with EvindenceS :-))

Online book by Hill Roberts ***regarding evidences*** that have led many scientists to accept an ancient date for creation of the earth and universe.
lordibelieve.org/page15.html

**Evidences for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon***--a divine ancient record from the New World that testifies of Jesus Christ.
www.jefflindsay.com/BMEvidences.shtml

PhysOrg news: South Pole Neutrino Detector ***Could Yield Evidences of String Theory***.
www.physorg.com/news10295.html

- but in the court context it has to be in singular, EVIDENCE, i believe.

Vladimir Dubisskiy
United States
Local time: 20:06
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Russian,

Ukrainian
PRO pts in category: 99

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

neutral

David Knowles: In a legal context, both evidence and testimony are collective nouns used in the singular, like rice or картофель

16 mins

-> картофель тут не причем, You wrote: "testimony" has no plural - which is incorrect. About legal context see my own note (you have not noticed it, i believe) :-)

agree

Alexander Demyanov: http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/testimony

2 hrs

-> Thank you, Alex!

neutral

Kevin Kelly: The fact that the plural form of testimony can be found on the internet or elsewhere does not make it correct or accepted usage. It's poor English, period.

8 hrs

agree

sergey (X): surely david and kevin can't defy bbc?

12 hrs

agree

Tatiana Nero (X): in this context - testimony, singular. Sometimes - "depositions in open court", but mainly - testimony of plaintiffs & defendants (claimants & respondents is ok, too).

17 hrs

agree

Olga Gorina: testimony,plural testimonies (countable,uncountable) Longman Dictionary;The dead man's family's testimonies helped to win the case. [C]-Cambridge Dictionary

21 hrs

disagree

Dorene Cornwell: I am feeling more emphatic than David or Kevin. Testimony is by far the accepted form in this context; "testimonies" more often than not have religious meanings, despite the odd legal document containing collquialisms.

1 day 22 hrs

8 hrs confidence:

Показания истцов и ответчиков evidence by both the Claimant and the Respondent

Explanation:
to reconcile the situation and avoid using plural forms, I suggest to rearrange the sentence in the following way: "the court heard evidence by both the Claimant and the Respondent".

Karen Sughyan
Armenia
Local time: 05:06
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Armenian
PRO pts in category: 12

12 hrs confidence:

Показания истцов и ответчиков может

Explanation:
these are all articles from the bbc.co.uk site, not google -

Nevertheless, the quality of the video is so bad and in my opinion it will be necessary to get evidences of witness and contrast it with the testimony of the helicopter crew.
www.bbc.co.uk/kent/have_your_say/news/ufo4.shtml

When I receive a draft of an indictment I am looking at the evidences we have. The indictment will be signed when we have sufficient evidence to obtain the conviction.
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/un/transcripts/carla_delponte.sht...

Following the death of her husband, Marcet wrote Evidences of Christianity, which focused on the credibility of the New Testament, looking at both internal and external evidence to support the text.
www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/marcet_jane.shtml

There are certainly odd deficiencies in the house, considering the extraordinary evidences of wealth which are round me.
www.bbc.co.uk/cult/vampires/classicstory/dracula_p2.shtml

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 hrs (2006-02-17 10:34:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

evidence 1. [U,C] the facts, signs or objects that make you believe that sth is true
C - countable, it means that plural forms are possible.

sergey (X)
Local time: 02:06
PRO pts in category: 7

1 day 52 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): -1

Показания истцов и ответчиков Statements by Plaintiffs and Defendants

Explanation:
"Statements": I haven't ever encountered "testimony" in civil court documents. I tend to associate testimony with criminal cases. "Evidence" would be a good option, but I think it relates more to written documents ("to the court hearing, bring any evidence to support your case"...); in the source text "показания" point more to oral statements made in the court room or elsewhere. I wouldn't use "evidences" (pl.) cause it sounds foreign to me when it comes to legal documents.

"Plaintiffs" and "Defendants": at least in the U.S., those are universal terms to define litigants in both civil and criminal cases. I haven't ever read "Claimant" or "Respondent" in U.S. court documents.

Pavel Zalutski
United States
Local time: 21:06
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Russian
PRO pts in category: 4

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English translation: Evidence

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